Lauren Westmoreland, Howell's girlfriend of six years, was surprised to receive a letter from Lucasfilm stating their intentions to officially make Riley Howell into "Ri-Lee Howell, Jedi Master and historian" following the release of The Rise Of Skywalker.
Probably the saddest, coolest TikTok Iβve ever seen. Long live Ri-Lee π€π» https://t.co/xuT2Q7Y4MAβ Ofc. Daddo | Slava Ukraini (@Ofc. Daddo | Slava Ukraini) 1577117649
Westmoreland says Riley was the biggest Star Wars fan ever and that he had been since he was a kid.
So when the letter from Lucasfilm arrived, it seemed too good to be true.
"Riley's courage and selflessness brings out the Jedi in all of us," said the letter from Lucasfilm. "As a small tribute, our Story Group has incorporated a re-imagining of Riley's name as a character in the 'Star Wars' galaxy. We can't reveal the specific details at this time, but the character's name will appear in a forthcoming book publication later this year."
The story is touching countless people across the internet.
@officerdaddo Beautiful tribute to a courageous, selfless soul who epitomized a true Jedi Warrior. #LongliveRiLeeβ Jaye Bπ (@Jaye Bπ) 1577119639
@officerdaddo I'm not crying in my office at work, you are https://t.co/w1uWDzbCvXβ π²ππππππ πΎ (@π²ππππππ πΎ) 1577135849
@officerdaddo May the force be with him!!β Greenie (@Greenie) 1577121049
"Ri-Lee Howell was a Jedi Master and historian of the Jedi Order," reads the Wookieepedia entry on Howell.
"Howell collected many accounts of explorations of the Force in the two volumes of the Aionomica, Aionomicum I and Aionomicum II, carefully preserving the original texts"
@officerdaddo Currently sitting in my office at work trying not to cry π₯Ίπ₯Ίππβ Marianne (@Marianne) 1577127483
@officerdaddo @sweetmama_j I'm not okayβ MamaLlama ((B)) (@MamaLlama ((B))) 1577148900
@officerdaddo Oh my God. My heart.β big-head-jillian (@big-head-jillian) 1577153027
"Riley was a massive Star Wars fan, and in the five-plus years I knew him he repeatedly surprised me with his encyclopedic knowledge of the Star Wars universe. The fact that his character is a historian who put together an incredibly important text for the Jedi religion, important enough for Rey and Luke to take with them on the Millennium Falcon, is beyond cool, and we have no words for this except: Thank you, Lucasfilm. You made our Christmas, even though we're finishing the most difficult year in memory for us all."
@officerdaddo Iβm not crying, youβre crying! π https://t.co/9XZrUTj5Nkβ Laura Eismont (@Laura Eismont) 1577154852
@officerdaddo Damn πππ my feelings πππβ€β Hotep Dad Max π₯ (@Hotep Dad Max π₯) 1577162857
@officerdaddo @FB_FilmAnalysis https://t.co/rl2pgNqx5Qβ Kristian (@Kristian) 1577167470
@officerdaddo LEGEND!β Criscat (@Criscat) 1577178988
We're not crying, you're crying.
Relive the beginning of the Star Wars saga with this shirt available here.
Amazon
It's brilliant!
My daughter wrote her first comic book!! (Itβs like Star Wars, but with Narwhals) https://t.co/rtkAvAEobAβ Jon Cryer (@Jon Cryer) 1551457158.0
Just to give you a taste.... Hereβs page 1 of Nar Wars (Oops, did I put too many dots in the ellipses?) https://t.co/R06gTsU1kkβ Jon Cryer (@Jon Cryer) 1551506422.0
The first tweet visually explains why narwhals are the perfect animal for a Star Wars adaption, as their tusks act as perfect stand-ins for lightsabers.
The second tweet sets the stage with a redesigned Death Star (that tusk is absolutely intimidating) and explaining that this is in fact Narth Veader's story.
"Yeh! My story,"
The evil looking whale says.
The genius of the premise knows no bounds.
@MrJonCryer https://t.co/8NQi9bdIndβ Paulin Greens (@Paulin Greens) 1551531182.0
@MrJonCryer https://t.co/8tEbr55xYuβ Ben Gorniak (@Ben Gorniak) 1551532147.0
@AkilahObviously @MrJonCryer I like the emotion just using whale body language!β Topless Topics (@Topless Topics) 1551586673.0
It's not just me saying this either. Chuck Wendig, a critically acclaimed writer who formerly worked on Star Wars books, and Rian Johnson, the director of The Last Jedi, both praised the comic.
Let me know you found me here.
How can you argue with that?
@MrJonCryer SOLD, itβll make millions, Iβll buy four copies.β Chuck Wendig (@Chuck Wendig) 1551470671.0
@OhNoSheTwitnt @MrJonCryer That is truly awesome.β Rian Johnson (@Rian Johnson) 1551498091.0
And in case that wasn't enough, Mark Hamill himself had a word or 17 about the project. Star Wars absolutely needs more narwhals.
Imagine Mark Hamill voicing an animated narwhal with a green lightsaber for his horn. It practically writes itself!
@MrJonCryer @rianjohnson I always thought it would've been better if we had more Narwhals. Your daughter is a visionary.β Mark Hamill (@Mark Hamill) 1551515098.0
@HamillHimself @rianjohnson She takes the opportunity to remind me of that constantly.β Jon Cryer (@Jon Cryer) 1551541159.0
While Disney has no plans at this time to adapt the obviously ingenious idea, fans will have to make do with this two page preview. Maybe if we ask really nicely, Cryer can "accidentally" upload the rest of the intellectual property offending material, and we can have the NarWars we deserve.
Star Wars Episode IX (no official title announced) is slated for released on December 20th of this year.